#HPHM R

[defoozor]

Team R!

[missnight0wl]

Y7Ch57: The Final “Battle”

*sigh*

Ok, let’s talk about this disaster.

Ah, yes. Because everyone knows that as soon as Dumbledore is not at Hogwarts, the faculty becomes totally incapable of doing anything – including people like Minerva Badass McGonagall or Filius Former-Duelling-Champion Flitwick. Yes, of course.

Funny that you say that, Jae. I’ll actually come back to it a little later.

You know what? No. Rowan would cry at least for a week straight if they knew how fucking stupid everyone is at this point.

All right, that might be my biggest problem with this whole “battle” because… WHY?? Why do we even care whether or not they get to Hogwarts? Minnie alone would kick their asses in under a minute – and quite frankly, I’d love to see it. Just let them through!

WHY THE FUCK DO WE CARE?!

Ok, so it’s never really explained who’s exactly Perry’s target here. Sure, we’re told it’s about an adult Legilimens, and MC deduced that both Dumbledore and Snape are adult Legilmenses. Still, it’s never addressed directly again, and it kinda bothers me. But whatever, I guess. Apparently, we’re supposed to assume that it’s indeed Snape who’s Perry’s target. But like… if there’s anyone at Hogwarts fully capable of defending themselves... IT’S SNAPE. Like… just imagine this encounter.

Perry: Severus Snape? I have a proposition for you that--

Snape: *lazily waves his wand*

Perry: *flies over the Black Lake, slightly smoking because of the impact of Snape’s spell that hit him*

Or…

Perry: Severus Snape? I’m Peregrine Lastname, I’m the father of MC and Jacob. I--

Snape: Sectumsempra!

Perry: AAAAAAAAAA!

Snape: I suffered years because of your two spawns.

Perry: Help! I’m bleeding out!

Snape: Yes, that’s a very accurate description of my suffering.

Seriously, why do we care?! I swear, this fucking “battle” has no stakes whatsoever, and I just don’t understand why it even exists.

Another absurd: why the fuck Verucca wants to kill Peregrine?

Ok, so at least it’s clear that Verucca is indeed a Snyde because apparently, all the Snydes are stupid bitches. If Verucca thought just for a moment, she’d realise that the Ministry focusing on Peregrine meant they’re focusing less on her. And that means she can do whatever she wants more freely. But whatever, I guess.

And here’s another stupidity. If Verucca wants to lead R, all she has to do is to convince other members that Perry is insane and that she’d be better for the whole organisation. Like, it should be super easy after he fucked up with the recent mind control test. And who fucking cares that he ruined R’s name or whatever? Rebel people against Perry, lay low for some time, change the name of the organisation, and enjoy your fucking profit! What would Perry do when left alone??

Because I’m gonna do it myself!

A friendly reminder that Verucca is also Merula’s mother’s sister (according to Y5Ch28) which means it’s quite likely Merula’s parents are cousins – which is not rare among pureblood families, after all :)

I know, it’s really disappointing.

Also, the Circle of Khanna behind us, especially Ben and Corey (and especially if you chose to ban Merula from the Circle a couple of chapters ago):

No, really, it’s just… so pathetic, considering that the vast majority of the Circle never cared about Merula and Merula never cared about them.

I… I’m…

HOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS SO BAD??

Also, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS FIRE?!?!?! How anyone at JC looked at this and was like: “Yeah, that’s good enough”?! I swear we had dragon fire animations before better than this abomination…

Ok, but Ben’s utter disappointment in this scene is the only good thing in this damn chapter. I can even say I actually enjoyed it.

I mean… Yeah, there were 17 of you and 7 of them, so… By the way, I talked more more about the fighting alone in this post.

Ok, but does anyone remember that R is supposed to be an international organisation? Was it simply retconned or are we supposed to believe that an international organisation has like… 14 members? Am I counting it correctly? Perry, 7 idiots he brought with him, Verucca, Merula, Shiratori, Burke, Zenith Xeep, and Rakepick. Right?

I don’t know how it’s possible, but this whole situation gets more and more pathetic the more I think about it.

Also, I mentioned in the post linked above that I felt more threatened by Mrs Norris in Y1. But you know what else had more tension than this damn “battle”? Our very first trip to Knockturn Alley. Remember this?

Now, let’s compare those situations.

Honestly, it’s just so upsetting that this game used to be created by people who actually could create tension for one simple event that doesn’t even matter that much in the great picture, and now we’re getting… THIS. The final “battle” with R had literally no stakes. There was no logic and therefore also no threats. I felt absolutely nothing, and I’m truly baffled remembering how many emotions this story could give me back in Y5.

Unfortunately, it all changed with the extremely stupid end of Y5, and it was getting only worse ever since. It’s like JC’s greatest ambition is making things worse than Y5Ch31 was.

But let’s move on because I’m not done.

MC’s reaction is about as emotional as I felt during this whole chapter. It’s just hilarious, sorry not sorry.

Ok, so at first, I wanted to leave this part because JC clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing anymore. But you know what? I’m gonna rant. Because no, Rowan’s sacrifice was not honoured. And quite frankly, you keep desecrating it by still using it at this point.

Learning the truth was something very important for Rowan. I mean, this is our conversation from the end of Y1:

By the end of Y7, I’m pretty sure we didn’t solve a single mystery of the story. And what’s the worst is that we didn’t solve the mystery of Rowan’s death. Sure, Peregrine told us that Rakepick went rogue or whatever. But it still makes no fucking sense.

First of all, only an idiot would believe in anything Peregrine says. But more importantly, we actually know about things suggesting that Peregrine lies. In the insane route, Rakepick in Azkaban is absolutely terrified of R, so how she’d go rogue if that’s the case? On top of that, we saw in Olivia’s memories that Rakepick talked with someone from R about Duncan brewing his potion. Yet, Peregrine claimed that R didn’t get involved with the Cursed Vaults until Jacob went missing. You know what it means? It means that Perry fucking lied. And if he lied about something this important, why should we believe him about anything else?

Moreover, we still don’t know why Rowan died. Rakepick told us in Azkaban that it wasn’t Rowan who was supposed to die that night. Then who? Ben? Why? Sure, Rakepick herself claimed in the Forest that she wanted to kill MC. And sure, you can say it makes sense if she saw MC as her competition – except it makes no sense! Why? Because it only made things harder for her. And the game even addressed that!

Why would Rakepick make things so much harder for herself just to get rid of her competition? Especially since she should’ve known where the Sunken Vault is because we know that R was there before (thanks to the note from the Weird Sisters TLSQ). But even if she didn’t know… it still would be more reasonable to not draw attention to herself and simply use it to work on getting to the Vault before MC.

You didn’t honour Rowan’s sacrifice. You ignored about 95% of things that ever happened in the game.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Archives of The Cabal - The Secret Origin of "R"

@ladyofsappho You asked me for this months ago, and you're finally getting an answer. @missnight0wl if you're interested I would also be honored to hear your thoughts. @dat-silvers-girl I just tag you in everything I write by now.

I am not caught up on Beyond, and this will deviate from canon in general, but I have tried to combine my original ideas and head-canons with the established lore about The Cabal. Either way, this is my version of R's story, and it's gonna be a long one, my friend. Buckle up.

The story you're about to hear is heavily redacted. People have fought and died and lost themselves and done unspeakable things to contain the secrets written here. Records are, to put it lightly, hard to find. For that is the nature of R.

To properly explain who they are, what they want, and where they come from…one must take a walk through history. Because R is old. Very old. Centuries old. It was primarily the brainchild of two men, but what truly birthed The Cabal was the social and political situation of the magical world at the time the group was formed. Because it is and has always been intrinsically linked to the passing of the Statute of Secrecy. Without that bit of legislation, there simply is no Cabal. Furthermore, The Cabal has always had a vested interest in the Wizarding schools. So we’ll need to talk about the days before The Statute.  Before witches and wizards went underground. Back when the magical schools were still in grave danger. 

It started...with the school of magic known as Ruqyah.

Before the persecution from the muggles became a larger problem, the wizarding world experienced a period of prosperity that it would never see again. An era that magical historians would later describe as the “Golden Years” that are estimated to have begun at around the point Hogwarts was constructed at the turn of the millennium. During this time, magical education peaked. The wizarding schools in the world numbered thirty-two, with many advanced institutions rising. Their knowledge and power only grew as they reached out to one another and did collaborations, maintaining strong relationships across the globe. Traditions like the Triwizard Tournament sprung up during this time. At the height of enlightenment was the school known as Ruqyah in Egypt. Built into one of the Pyramids, Ruqyah was a haven of higher learning, famous across the world for producing the best Healers, Beastkeepers, and Magical Researchers. 

Though the school no longer exists in the present day, there was a time when every young Mage knew Ruqyah, and its unmistakable sigil - the Eye of Horus. Students from all over the world were permitted, even encouraged, to visit the school and participate in the education it offered. Whether it was for a week, a year, or even if they decided to enroll full time. Ruqyah pursued all sorts of goals, seeking knowledge and power. Theirs was the path to enlightenment and immortality - or so it was claimed. But only the truly bold, only those who had lived in the Pyramid for years ever dared to explore the Tombs of Ruqyah, which were said to be cursed. Supposedly inhabited by a malevolent spirit, who was only to be cowed by the presence of students and staff. It was said that they kept this being at bay by perpetuating the study of such pure magic. To many, these were just rumors, though Ruqyah Alums treated these stories with respect and many believed them in earnest. This was yet another reason such pride was taken in the education of the students. In the days of the Golden Years, Ruqyah was truly considered top class. 

But The Golden Years were never to last.

Though tension between the mages and the non-magical community had always been an issue, the problem only grew worse during the fifteenth century. The muggles were still licking their wounds after the terrible phenomenon known as The Black Death, which had suspiciously killed very few wizards, the overwhelming majority of its victims being non-magical. A story began to spread, the idea that wizardkind had created the Plague themselves and purposefully unleashed it onto the world. Whether or not there is any truth to this...difficult to say. The Black Death occurred centuries ago and any record of magical involvement, if indeed there was any, has long since been erased. During this time, Witch Hunting was becoming a very popular profession for a variety of reasons, (many of them religiously motivated) and Muggles soon began rallying together to form organized strikes at wizardkind. The conflict escalated beyond the Ministries’ control as witches and wizards who bore prejudice of their own took the opportunity to fight back. 

The conflict raged across the world like wildfire, with no end in sight for three hundred years. A period that became known as The Witch Hunter Wars. Ministries passed new laws, and magical schools shifted the focus of their curriculum's. Some began to prioritize subterfuge…others favored combat. Regrettably, wizarding culture became steeped in hatred and mistrust of the muggles. Even Ruqyah, beloved among wizardkind for the scholars it had produced…it too changed direction and began to train a generation of Dark Wizards who specialized in Curse-Breaking. Who learned the most unseemly of secrets, venturing further into the Tombs of Ruqyah than anyone had ever dared go. Some were even said to have met the demon at the heart of the Pyramid. 

But it was not enough. The magical community had always been dwarfed by their muggle counterparts. Through sheer numbers alone, the muggles always maintained the upper-hand, doing more and more damage as time went on. The war had destroyed any goodwill the magicals might have felt toward the muggles, and any witch or wizard associating with them was distrusted on principle. Common ground was no longer possible. Coexistence was no longer possible. By the end of the seventeenth century, several Wizarding Ministries had fallen, and over half of the known Wizarding Schools had been eradicated. Eventually, Ruqyah would join them. In 1679, the ancient and beloved school was stormed and destroyed by Witch Hunters. The following ten years, which later became known as “The Decade Without Hope” preempted a “Final Summit”  of the International Confederation of Wizards, who had decided at last that enough was enough. 

The Decade Without Hope

The Decade without Hope was…a dark time. The vast majority of the magical community believed that extinction loomed on the horizon. That the muggles would not stop until they were gone. Anguish and frustration gave over to hatred. Many young mages committed suicide. Others entered heavily populated muggle villages and sacrificed themselves by casting explosive curses. The future, if there was to be one at all, seemed bleak. The remaining witches and wizards turned on one another, looting and killing became common. Dark Wizards went unpunished, because who was left to punish them? What remained of the wizarding government had their hands full with the Witch Hunter Wars, with preparing the plans for the Final Summit. But these plans were to be interrupted by two dark wizards. Their names were Henri Jean Alerie…and Dai Ryusaki.

During the days before most of the Wizarding Schools were lost, it was relatively common for a student to spend more years in school, to attend more than one academy and graduate with honors from all of them.  Ryusaki was a Mahoutokoro Alum, and Alerie had attended Beauxbatons, but both had also been educated together at Ruqyah. They were two of the last students to graduate before the school was destroyed. Alerie and Ryusaki, who had become close friends, traveled the world together after their graduation to seek their fortune. The teachings of Ruqyah were long since corrupted, and these two old friends worked together as partners in crime. In doing so, they frequently communicated by letter, but to avoid detection should their letters fall into the wrong hands, they never added signatures. It had been a longstanding tradition at Ruqyah for the Headmaster, often known as “The Ruqyah” to sign his letters with the Eye of Horus symbol, which closely resembled the letter “R.” A technique that Alerie and Ryusaki appropriated for themselves as a code known only to them. 

Ryusaki's Gambit

After The Witch Hunter Wars, and the fall of several Ministries, there were many precious, dangerous magical artifacts in need of relocation. Due to the adaptive nature of magic, which is itself a living force, Dai Ryusaki and Henri Jean Alerie both knew that the remaining schools of magic would be safer than any Ministry. They were as of yet undiscovered by the muggles and seemingly small enough to fly under the radar. The only remaining school the Witch Hunters were aware of was Hogwarts, yet they seemed reluctant to strike the British school, possibly due to rumors that it was guarded by a terrible monster left behind by one of the Founders. 

Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries, as well as their contemporaries in other nations, had already concluded that any dwelling inhabited by multiple witches and wizards for several generations would eventually develop its own independent magical energy, and, in a sense, become a living thing. In the case of wizarding schools, the youthful magic of the students was even stronger, and more changeable. It was the very best chance. Ryusaki knew what needed to be done. He called upon the services of several people whom he trusted. They had graduated from the various remaining schools of magic and eventually rose to lead them, but before that, they had been part of the final classes to study at Ruqyah and were originally Curse-Breakers by trade. Over the years, Ryusaki had maintained correspondence with all of them. 

He reached out to Inacio Campos, of Castelobruxo, Zuri Adesina of Ugadou, Sigrid Jorgensen of Durmstrang, Tatiana Morozov of Koldovstoretz, and Hamish Fawley of Hogwarts. There was some reluctance once his colleagues discovered his past misdeeds, but Ryusaki convinced them that his plan was in the best interests of wizardkind, that he was merely trying to repent. Henri Jean Alerie was only too happy to represent Beauxbatons in this endeavor, as Ryusaki represented Mahoutokoro. In time, the two men secured themselves as Headmasters of their respective schools. The only representatives who were not in attendance were Morozov and Fawley. Morozov was disgusted by Ryusaki’s crimes and refused to join the alliance, and with her, the Russian school withdrew from the plan. Fawley expressed agreement with the plan, but was unwilling to play any part in it. Hamish Fawley was gravely ill, afflicted with a mysterious curse from the time he was born. As a result, not only did he have limited time and energy, but he wanted nothing to do with Cursed Artifacts or Curses as a whole. Privately, Alerie maintained correspondence with Fawley, offering his sympathies. 

The other representatives went along with this plan, deciding to trust Ryusaki, as he seemed honest…though many of them did not fully trust Alerie. Which was ironic, as he played a crucial part of the plan. It was he who staged the near destruction of the Lebanese Ministry of Magic, where the International Confederation of Wizards had sent them for safekeeping. Using the Imperius Curse to gain access to the heart of the Lebanese Ministry, so the new alliance could steal the Artifacts. Thereafter, Ryusaki waited until the building was empty to cast a terrible fire, a Dark Spell, to make it seem as though the Witch Hunters had struck again, and the artifacts destroyed in the fire. In truth, each of them took possession of one and pledged to guard it indefinitely. To do so, they used their schools. Infused with emergent magical energy that was fueled by generations of children, this alliance truly believed there was nowhere safer. They had all studied at Ruqyah at one point or another. They all knew of the Tombs, those that guarded unspeakable Dark Arts and a nameless Demon. 

Within the schools of the Alliance, secret chambers were constructed to house the artifacts, similar to the Tombs. The enchantments and curses placed on these ”Vaults” did not remain stagnant. Left alone, they grew like ivy, evolving and growing in strength over the years. Until, or so they hoped and planned, these secret Cursed Vaults and the treasures they guarded would be forgotten and lost to time. Plotting a strike on a Wizarding Ministry and the theft of the most dangerous artifacts in the world is no small feat. It took the better part of two years to plan, and during this time, the Alliance would communicate with each other using the secrecy they had learned from Ryusaki and Alerie. Signing all of their letters with nothing but the Eye of Horus, represented on the parchment as the letter “R” In time, this group came to refer to itself as Ruqyah, or simply “R” as a coded version - taking the name of the fallen school in an effort to honor the ideals and traditions that were lost. They began wearing red cloaks for subterfuge, echoing the school uniform of the ancient pyramid. Ryusaki could not partake, for he had "turned white" as they say in Mahoutokoro, long ago. His robes would always reflect his sin.

After the Artifacts were hidden, the members of this new faction did not see each other for many years, only communicating through further messages likewise written in code. They had pledged to protect the world from the most powerful and unstable kinds of magic. They knew what kind of danger the Artifacts might have posed if they had fallen into the wrong hands - magical or mundane. Yet during this time, Ryusaki had begun to see the world anew, as he poured himself deeper into magical philosophy. The Mahoutokoro Headmaster had never been wholly evil, and through his efforts with R, he had undergone a change of heart. Feeling remorse for his crimes and resolving to change his ways. Ryusaki dedicated his life to reforming, going so far as to reinvent the dark spells he had learned in Egypt to make them better. He even reinvented the dark spell he had used to destroy the Lebanese Ministry, turning it into the defensive curse known as Protego Diabolica. To the point of willingly turning himself over to the authorities for his various criminal acts - though he did not breathe a word of the artifacts, their locations, or the existence of R. 

Alerie, however, went in a different direction.

With access to one of the deadly artifacts, he was free to study it during his spare time running Beauxbatons. During the Decade Without Hope, he continued studies into the most obscure and forbidden branches of magic. Crafting spells, objects, and potions of immense and terrible power. Drowning himself in the rarest and most dangerous enchantments. He went as far as to return to the ruins of Ruqyah and attempt to seek out the malevolent spirit hidden within the pyramid’s depths, thinking he could use its power for himself. But with the school long since abandoned, there was nothing and no one left to guard the entity, who had flourished in the time since Ruqyah’s fall. No one is quite certain what happened to Alerie in the heart of the pyramid. But he was never the same afterward. Some say he went mad, and perhaps he did. But the encounter changed him on a fundamental level. He returned to Beauxbatons wearing a strange amulet and and boasting of how his “third eye” had been opened. 

The Crown of Mneme

The International Confederation of Wizards were not blind, they could see that Ryusaki was no longer a danger to the magical world and knew they could make good use of his brilliance - so they made him an offer - to be pardoned for all his past crimes and receive lifelong immunity for any future crimes. In return, they commissioned him to craft a powerful spell that would allow the caster to reshape the minds of others on a massive scale. They invited him to the Final Summit, which was to be held in the Kingdom of Bhutan, to use this magic in a special ceremony. Ryusaki flatly refused such a prospect, until The Confederation fully explained their reasoning. 

During this time period, The Confederation was certainly not loved. Much of wizardkind believed that the horrid state of affairs was in no small part due to their inaction and poor decision making. Most did not believe that the Confederation would be able to save the wizarding community. But there were others. Clever mages of higher learning who understood the politics, who were near enough to the inner circle for the whispers and rumors to have leaked down to them. Long before the Statute of Secrecy was signed, many saw it coming. For it was becoming common practice more and more to live a double life, to hide one’s magic from any nearby muggles. Nevertheless, secrecy was paramount. The Witch Hunters could not be allowed to catch wind of this plan. The Final Summit was risky in general. To put all the most important members of the Confederation together, all in one room, was dangerous. Should the Witch Hunters discover that this meeting was to take place, should they strike during the Summit, they would wipe out the Confederation and with it, the last hope for wizardkind. Yet they took a chance and trusted Dai Ryusaki with knowledge of this plan. 

After some consideration,  he agreed to the Confederation’s offer. He set to work, using all of his magical knowledge and skill in the effort to make the Statute of Secrecy possible. Aided by his old friend Alerie, not realizing that Alerie had plans of his own. Yet as he worked, Ryusaki lamented the fate of wizardkind, doomed to hide away forever…until he had an epiphany. The answer came to him in a stroke of genius. A way to unite both worlds without conflict or bloodshed. Thoughtlessly, he shared his brainchild with Alerie via one of their many coded letters, who then joined him in celebration. In time, Ryusaki crafted the artifact known as The Crown of Mneme. With it, he and Alerie brewed a special potion designed to amplify the Crown’s power when the two were combined. The ingredients for this potion were a closely guarded secret, and the two old friends only ever wrote them down once, on an ancient scroll. These efforts bore fruit, and Ryusaki tested the Crown’s power by treating the trauma of his students at Mahoutokoro. However, attempting to heal the pains and trials of his friend Alerie revealed the horror within his soul, and Ryusaki recoiled. He attempted to excise this evil from his friend, but Alerie escaped. 

Regrettably, this discovery sealed Ryusaki’s fate. Alerie could not allow any to learn the truth of what he had seen, of his heritage. The Demon who had hidden in the Tombs of Rugyah for so many years, who now ruled the pyramid in silence…was in truth, a magical creature known as an Ifrit. Precious little is known about them and in the seventeenth century wizards knew little and less. But such an entity is classified as a “non-being” similar to boggarts or dementors, and the Ifrit is highly dangerous. Rarely seen in the West, an Ifrit can live for millennia, and use that time to gradually corrupt the souls of mages around them, yet having no effect on muggles. Long ago, the founders of Ruqyah crossed swords with an Ifrit, bravely fighting the creature and trapping it in an ancient tomb. Building a pyramid around the demon to keep it sealed away, and the prison evolved through the years, becoming one of the most famous wizarding schools of all time. It was always the job of the Headmaster, “The Ruqyah,” to contain the Ifrit.

Alerie had met The Ifrit. The enchantments on the Pyramid prevented it from escaping altogether, but once the last Ruqyah had died, the Ifrit’s magic grew stronger. Before, Headmasters had wielded The Eye of Horus to “block” out the Ifrit’s third eye, which has sometimes been referred to as the “evil eye.” For the Ifrit’s third eye grants them powers such as legilimency, and worse. They can attack and devastate the minds of mortals. Alerie had an encounter with this non-being while it was near full power, and the course of his life became set in stone. For the Ifrit had revealed a shattering truth - many times in the past, it had taken human witches as lovers, one of whom was Alerie’s own mother. Henri Jean Alerie was only half human. The Amulet he wore had been created by the Ifrit some time ago, and it had been given to Alerie as inheritance. In years to come, his seemingly endless longevity and his fearsome talent with the Dark Arts could both be attributed to his heritage. Alerie had left the pyramid a different man, and when Ryusaki discovered the horrors hidden in his soul, he vowed to save his old friend. But Alerie had already decided that Ryusaki could not be allowed to live.

The Final Summit

Ten years after the Fall of Ruqyah, the Confederation met in secret for the Final Summit, in the Kingdom of Bhutan. To discuss their plans, and most importantly, to gauge how successful Ryusaki had been at the task they had given him. The group of mages met and conversed for many days to determine the future of their kind. During this time, when Ryusaki was called upon to present his invention, he instead proposed an alternative solution. He painted a picture for his fellow wizards, describing the utopia in his mind. A world where there was no difference between the magical and mundane. A peaceful, enlightened world where every child born would be blessed with magic. If the Crown could be used for this purpose, there would be no need for secrecy. No need for conflict - no real possibility of another war. The Confederation nervously laughed off such wild delusions and dismissed Ryusaki as a radical before demanding that he relinquish the Crown. When Ryusaki refused, things quickly devolved into chaos. 

Ryusaki knew that he could not surrender the Crown, not until he had used it to save the world. The magical community would not hide themselves. They would join hands with their muggle brethren, and together they would expel the forces of evil - creatures like the Ifrit hiding in Ruqyah. The world needed to know about this danger, and that his old friend had already been corrupted by it. Determined to uphold the legacy of what Ruqyah had once been, Ryusaki, who was now on the run, called upon the services of R. A loyal man, Ryusaki expected the Headmasters of the remaining magical schools, the Guardians of the Artifacts, would come to his aid, as he would have done for them. But by then, it was too late.

Alerie had gotten to them first.

As a member of R, he had contacted the others and met with them to discuss the situation. Painting a very different version of events. Alerie claimed Ryusaki’s atonement was a lie. That he had been deceiving the others, and that his sanity slipped further and further toward madness with each passing day. That he had created another deadly Artifact, like the ones R had hidden, and the Confederation was now hunting him. Though the others doubted his tale at first, rumors of Ryusaki’s exploits were spreading, as Alerie’s next visit had been to see the Confederation. With Ryusaki on the run, Alerie had approached them. He offered to do the job that Ryusaki would not, in exchange for the same reward - lifetime immunity from prosecution. The Confederation, who had no other cards left to play, agreed to his terms - none of them having any idea just how long Alerie would live.

Ryusaki’s reputation was soon smeared by the remaining Ministries, in an attempt to discredit him and prevent him from garnering sympathy. His past misdeeds as a Dark Wizard were regularly brought up by his enemies and those who wished to apprehend him and the Crown. The remaining members of R came to believe Alerie’s stories were true, particularly as his newest ally corroborated them. Hamish Fawley, who had previously refused to join R, now accepted full membership and pledged to help stop Ryusaki and hide the Crown of Mneme at Hogwarts, just as the other Headmasters had done in their own schools. Alerie had approached Fawley separately and cut a deal with him on the side. Proposing that the Crown could be used to heal Fawley’s illness and break the Curse on him. Blind with hope, Fawley would have said or done anything that Alerie bid. 

Ryusaki had only one friend left he could turn to - or so he thought. The International Confederation could not be trusted. Ruqyah’s members had all abandoned him. But despite the evil in Alerie’s soul, Ryusaki believed he was still a good man beneath it all, and this faith was seemingly rewarded when Alerie appeared like a miracle and helped Ryusaki escape a team of Aurors. The two friends reconciled, and it was at this time that Alerie gave Ryusaki the amulet that he wore, seemingly as a sentimental gift. Ryusaki went on to explain his plan to Alerie. From the shadows, he had worked tirelessly, trying to discover a way to graph magic from a witch or wizard onto a muggle. As he refused to use live subjects or do anything that risked harm to the innocent, his methods were slow and inefficient. There was only one thing left to try - The Crown. Using its power to project magic onto every human in the world by using the wearer as a template. It would never have worked, and Alerie knew this. But Ryusaki was blind with hope, and insisted on acting as the Template himself, just as Alerie planned. 

Together, the two men brewed the special mind-enhancing potion necessary to use the Crown on a global scale. Alerie placed the Crown on Ryusaki’s head. Yet as the power began to overwhelm him, Ryusaki was suddenly struck in the back by his oldest friend. The two began to duel. It was during this time that, in the struggle, the Scroll containing the ingredients for Ryusaki’s special mind enhancing potion was torn in half, with each of the men taking one piece. Ryusaki had no strength, the Crown had drained him like a battery, and he had no choice but to take it off, to leave it behind. Yet using the last of his energy, Ryusaki fled, and hid his half of the Scroll. Rather than pursue him, Alerie claimed The Crown, before sending the same team of Aurors - who had been on his payroll the whole time - to apprehend the wounded Ryusaki. 

Alerie brought the Crown back to the Magisterial Chamber of Ancient Wizardry, as promised. It was here that the members of the Confederation cast a vote, and soon emerged from their talks with a signed document known as the International Statute of Secrecy, marking the official end of The Witch Hunter Wars. Alerie wielded the power of The Crown of Mneme. With it, he caused all the muggles to forget magic was ever real. The two worlds became permanently divided, and Ryusaki's hopes of a utopia of enlightenment and immortality, a world where everyone had magic - went up in smoke. His dreams died with him, as he was executed for a Dark Wizard shortly thereafter, still wearing the amulet Alerie had given him as a last gift. It is said that the amulet was cursed, and that before his death, Ryusaki's jailers tortured him. By the time he died, Ryusaki's resentment of the Confederation had intensified, their betrayal, to say nothing of Alerie's betrayal, burned him to his last cinder. With Ryusaki's death, Alerie moved to seize control of R. He proposed that the group be managed by an elected leader, like the Ruqyahs of old. His influence grew further as he was unanimously voted to become the new "R."

With no means to fulfill his promise to Fawley, Alerie blamed Ryusaki for stealing half of the Dark Scroll. But there could be no hope of brewing the Mind Enhancing Potion again without it, and without the Potion, the Crown was too unstable to use. Therefore, Alerie reluctantly handed it over to Fawley to keep the peace, and it was hidden in a secret Vault at the bottom of the Hogwarts' Black Lake. Guarded by a dark spell that Alerie himself had always favored. The new "R" continued to revolutionize, with Alerie and the others gathering more and more recruits, as well as beginning to infiltrate the rising Ministries in addition to the magical schools. Meanwhile, Hamish Fawley made a groundbreaking discovery. The magic in his soul, that which came from the Curse afflicting him, contained the raw, un-concentrated power of unstable magic, but this magic could be harvested. If Fawley could be born with such a Curse, so could anyone else...including muggles, and this Curse might just endow them with enough magic to no longer be considered muggles. Ryusaki's dream was not dead after all.

Fawley and Alerie clashed for years to come, with Fawley questioning Alerie's leadership at every turn, and how much it differed from Ryusaki's vision. Until Alerie's mask slipped and he showed his true colors. Fawley and Alerie got into a fight and Alerie lost his temper, exposing his inhuman power in front of multiple "R" members. With no other choice, Alerie was forced to flee, to disappear, leaving Hamish Fawley to be elected the new leader of Ruqyah. He burned away the rest of his life trying in vain to solve Ryusaki's equation - to turn a muggle into a wizard. He died without success, however, his bloodline remained in R, and served as Leaders more often than they did not. Eventually, Fawley's descendant - a boy called Jacob, discovered the existence of R.

As for Alerie, he resurfaced many times under many pseudonyms over the years, influencing events. Working to free his father, to influence The Cabal from afar. The Amulet served him well in this endeavor. Eventually, he would reestablish direct contact with Fawley's descendants, and Jacob's Sibling would come to known him personally. But by then, he was using yet another name...

Under the moniker of Elton Elderberry, Ministry Archivist, Henri Jean Alerie continues to influence events.

[vastly-fixated-devotee-667]

learning analytics and programming when my brain is still hooked on hphm is hard, like what do you MEAN i’ll be working with R. i absolutely do not want to do that ever

[catohphm]

After checking out @dat-silvers-girl’s video on the final battle against R in HPHM, a name flew into my head for the name of R’s headquarters and perhaps their boss - Waltham.

[smarti-at-smogwarts]

The parallels between Jacob and Odysseus/Epic are just

Man they sure are paralleling

[unfortunate-arrow]

📻+Ryan [ellie-e-marcovitz 😊]

This song is on Ryan’s playlist because it’s his favorite Stones song. It feels very relevant to parts of his life including his relationship with his uncle, Doyle, the battle with R, and the second Voldemort war. I also feel like there’s a lot of strife within the wizarding world between the first and second Voldemort war, so it kind of reflects that.

Send me 📻 + an oc and I’ll give you a random song off their playlist + an explanation of why it’s there

[carewyncromwell]

Duncan 🤝 Carewyn

After the death of Rowan Khanna, quite a few members of the sixth-year class rallied around her best friend, Carewyn Cromwell, in the pursuit of some justice for their fallen classmate. This led to the creation of the Circle of Khanna, the purpose of which was solely to avenge Rowan by bringing her murderer, Patricia Rakepick, to justice and stop the criminal syndicate Rakepick was a part of, R, from causing any more harm to anyone else. Before long this organization also gained members outside of Rowan's class -- the already-graduated Bill Weasley was one of the group's founding members and arguably its second-in-command after Carewyn, of course, but the group also gained much younger students such as Penny's second year sister Beatrice Haywood, Bill and Charlie's first-year twin brothers Fred and George Weasley, and first-year Hufflepuff magical prodigy Cedric Diggory.

The Circle's most unusual member, however, was the ghost who most commonly occupied the Prefect's Bathroom on the fifth floor -- Duncan Ashe.

In life, Duncan had been friends with Carewyn's older brother, Jacob. When she first met him, Duncan acted very hostile toward the mere mention of Jacob, to the point that she wondered how they ever could've been friends, but over time, as she got to know him better, Carewyn came to see that a lot of Duncan's harsh words toward Jacob were a defense mechanism more than anything, and that he'd truly been very fond of Jacob, even if he had a hard time expressing it. Duncan would even sing with Carewyn sometimes, not just songs she liked, but ones Jacob liked too! And once Jacob was freed from the Portrait Vault and he finally got the opportunity to see Duncan again, even just as a ghost, all remnants of the bitter attitude Carewyn encountered when she first met Duncan had seemingly dissipated. There were even days when Duncan acted legitimately cheerful -- like when he decided to "check in" on Carewyn by poking his head through her Potions textbook while she was studying in the empty Slytherin commonroom.

"You're up well past your curfew, young lady," Duncan's head smirked mischievously at her through the book.

When Carewyn subconsciously dropped it, Duncan laughed, swirling as a translucent shade up into the air over her even as she glared up at him.

"Duncan!" she scolded, clutching her heart. "That's not funny! You scared me half to death!"

Duncan's smirk only broadened as he crossed his arms over his transparent, robed chest. "Hey, it's not my fault you were way too focused on what you were doing to notice your surroundings. Honestly -- you and Jacob really are two of a pair..."

"I was focused because I have a test next week," Carewyn said coolly, leaning over to pick up her book. "I doubt whatever Jacob was focused on was test answers."

Duncan gave a short, bark-like laugh. "Ha! Of course not! More likely he was obsessively comparing illustrations of various dragon breeds, trying to assess the aerodynamics of their respective wing-spans or some nonsense..."

Even while saying this, something oddly fond flickered through Duncan's eyes. It made Carewyn smile a bit more sincerely despite herself.

"Probably..."

Duncan cocked his eyebrows at her expression, and Carewyn had to cover her mouth with her hand to hold in a giggle.

"Sorry, it's just -- when you used to talk about my brother before, it always sounded like you hated him. Even if I know you didn't, really. But now...well, I can't read your emotions as well, with you being a ghost...but I still feel like you're not holding back as much. Like you're being more honest than before."

Carewyn smiled encouragingly at him.

"It's really cool to hear. And to hear about Jacob from you too...I can tell you were really close."

Duncan was so taken aback by this that he actually seemed to flush, his transparent cheeks darkening with gray. He looked away quickly, flustered.

"Oh, don't cod me! I'm not acting in any particular way all of a sudden -- just...just not quite so mad at him anymore, now that we've talked everything out..."

Carewyn smiled a bit more wryly. "I'm glad you did that too. Jacob's never been good with people -- I reckon he was only going to know how you felt when you were finally honest with him -- "

"Oh, eff off, will you?" grumbled Duncan halfheartedly, flushing more gray than ever.

Rather than teasing Duncan further, Carewyn smiled a bit more kindly again.

"I'm serious, Duncan," she said. "I'm glad you and Jacob talked things out. And I'm glad you're happier...after everything you've been through, you deserve it."

Her eyes softened.

"...I'm happy my brother had someone like you. That he still does."

Duncan looked up at Carewyn, that gray flush still clinging to his cheeks. There was something almost unsure about his expression, before it broke into something a little more grounded: a smile touched with a cynical edge.

"...Hm...well, it's not like I could just let your brother throw himself back into danger without any back-up, could I? Or you, for that matter -- you're such a self-sacrificing little thing, I reckon you'd push Jacob right out of the way and chuck yourself in front of the Knight Bus itself, if it came to it -- "

"Shove off," said Carewyn, and Duncan cackled.

"Now then," said the ghost, and he became a bit more serious as he floated down as if to "sit" on the chair closest to her, pretending to prop his arms up on the back of the chair, "what you and Jae Kim were talking about the other day, about infiltrating one of R's meetings. I did some 'investigation' of my own, and I think your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor might have an allegiance you'll want to know about."

Carewyn raised her eyebrows. "Professor Meyers?"

"Yeah. Turns out that old Huxley thought being a professor at such an illustrious school would have a higher salary. Upon discovering, no, in fact, it doesn't, I reckon it was easy for R to sucker him in with the promise of a little extra scratch on the side, in exchange for information. I caught him using the Floo Network talking to someone who sounded suspiciously like that one R dosser who ordered Jacob come to Knockturn Alley, right before I died...asking how long he'd have to wait for his deposit, in exchange for intel on Dumbledore's most recent outing."

Carewyn's eyes flashed with righteous anger. "So that's how R has been able to keep such close watch on us."

"At least partially," agreed Duncan. "Remember, you've only had this bloke for a year...and probably will have him no more than that, if that myth about the Dark Arts job being cursed is true..."

Carewyn crossed her arms. "Well then, we'll definitely have to keep a close eye on Meyers in the future, so that he doesn't overhear anything he shouldn't..."

Her eyes then lit up with a bit of mischief.

"...Duncan, does Meyers have any inkling that we're onto him?"

"Nope," said Duncan with a smug smirk. "He knows who's your friend and who isn't, of course -- but I don't think he has any clue that you all have been investigating R. I'd hazard a guess that that thick plonker has no idea the Circle of Khanna even exists."

Carewyn's mouth spread into just as broad of a smirk as Duncan's.

"Then maybe we can use R's mole to help us get some information on them, as well," she said decisively. "Do you think you could keep an ear out, in case he has any more interesting 'fireside chats?'"

Duncan's smirk betrayed white teeth. "Hm, I'm sure I could. It's not like I have any classes to occupy my time. And hell -- what's the use of being able to float through walls and doors and not having to answer to the law or any of the Hogwarts teachers if you don't take advantage of it?"

Friendship Drabble Prompt!

[pooks]

in my expanded Hogwarts Mystery fics, there is one theme that i particularly love to write about and it's the fond relationship between Cassidy and Percy

by the time Percy comes to Hogwarts, he keeps hearing great stories about Cassidy Mercury who protects the school from the dangerous Cursed Vaults. also she's one of the best students in her age, good friends with his two older brothers and later, she becomes a prefect.

so naturally he looks up to her.

but Cassidy wins his loyalty on one thing and that is because she saved him from Rakepick in Year 5 and 6. you read that right, Cassidy saved his life twice.

at this point, she has become like a big sister figure for him. she doesn't brush him off because he's younger, but she sits down and listens to him. she pays attention to him. she respects his opinions and doesn't make fun of him.

for example, when they first met in Year 5;

Percy: We haven't been properly introduced...I'm Percy Weasley, future Gryffindor Prefect, Head Boy and eventual Minister of Magic. Cassidy: Sounds like you have your entire life planned out. :)

we know that the Weasley siblings would poke fun at Percy for saying that, but Cassidy doesn't and respects his ambitions. she has treated him like an equal since day 1 and that's why she won Percy from the beginning.

in-game, they have gone even on adventures with Percy. like when the twins disappeared in Year 6 and we're looking for them with Percy who is, understandably really worried (caused there is a dangerous Cursed Vault at the works!) and even ventures into the Forbidden Forest with Cassidy.

and in the sidequest where there is a party in the Borrow while the parents are away on business, Percy choses to lie (it's a white lie to spare Charlie and the others from trouble) when their mum asks them if there were any trouble.

Percy: It's true! I even organized your sock drawer! (when Molly asked if it was true everyone did chores and did not do anything suspicious)

also when finding out that dark artefacts were moved to the Ministry, Cassidy goes to find Percy (and Tulip, but she isn't really fond of talking about the Ministry). the minute Cassidy asked for Percy's expertise, this is the first time we see him so openly happy and excited.

Cassidy Mercury (the MC): Tulip, Percy. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Ministry of Magic headquarters. Percy (excitedly): Merlin's bread, where do I begin?!

clearly, Cassidy trusts his judgement and knowledge more than well enough to ask him about his input and Percy becomes to happy about being important enough to be asked for his expertise. that is really heartwarming.

not to mention in that same scene, Percy agrees to help Cassidy break into the fucking Ministry because she helped him finding Fred and George.

and in my stories, Rakepick actively manipulates and endanger Percy because of his Seer abilities (yes, Percy has strong Seer powers in my fanfics, but he's not strong enough for a full prophecy). he has a bigger role in my HM stories since Rakepick is more villainous and she ends up using Percy as a leverage to get to Bill, Charlie and Cassidy.

the section below is spoilers for year 6 in my HPHM fanfiction

[in one of my fanfic stories (during Year 6), Rakepick takes him as hostage to the Forbidden Forest. Percy had, by this point, become used as a tool to "predict" the future of Rakepick and the Cursed Vaults. his Seer power (which Percy has named as "foresight") isn't strong enough for a full prophecy and Rakepick decides to use him as a bait for the Cursed Vaults.

back at the castle when the gang is preparing to infiltrate the meeting Rakepick is having with 'R' in the forest, they find out from Oliver Wood that Percy has gone missing and his "rat" is acting weird as in full panic. Cassidy then realizes that there is a connection between Percy's terrified behavior for the past months and quickly deductes that Rakepick has him.]

Cassidy saved Percy's life twice and she has promised him that no matter what happens to her or in the future, she will always return to save him. so his feelings about Cassidy is nothing but pure love and loyalty, like how a younger brother sees his big sister. with Cassidy in the picture, Percy is no longer the odd one out in his family (where everyone are paired with someone except him).

in my Wizard Archivist series, the theme of their friendship is especially in focus because Cassidy is, since before the HP book events starts, locked in a hellscape world beyond the real Cursed Vault and Percy struggles to re-open that vault to bring her home with risk for his own life. '

conclusion? Percy genuinely loves Cassidy, as if it was his big sister and she has always been there for him, wheather it's saving his life or just listening to him rambling. it's an innocent and pure love. Cassidy, who is the younger sister to Jacob and has no younger siblings, adores him in the same way.

in a way, Cassidy became a substitiute when Bill and Charlie were too busy with their lives and a source of unconditional love for Percy.

and the kicker is when Cassidy came to save him the first time, she had just smiled and told him that everything would be alright because she was there now.

thanks for coming to my TED talk about Percy and his inofficial "big sis" role model Cassidy Mercury

[helenadurazzo]

Arriving in Manaus

In this story, Helena has graduated from Hogwarts and is ready to go on her own adventures. The first place she travels to is to Brazil to visit her pen friend, Alanza Alves. Helena is quick to realize that her summer in Brazil will be one to remember even in her first few moments in the country and its beautiful atmosphere.

Theme: Summer (and I guess also side character lol)

Characters: Helena Tremblay (OC), Alanza Alves

Melody and Miles, who are both mentioned in this story, belong to @melodymidway

@hphm-fandom-events

Helena Tremblay’s POV, June 1991

Helena immediately felt the thick air and humidity as soon as she manifested into the city of Manaus with the assistance of the portkey that allowed her to travel across the Atlantic at lightning speed. As she walked from the isolated alley into the bustling square, she took in her surroundings. She had grown up in Ireland and went to school in Scotland, she was used to the rolling hills that a layer of fog and mist would settle on in the early hours of the morning along with the common drizzle. But Brazil seemed to be quite different, she doubted it was as hot as she thought it was but her mind convinced her otherwise. If she hadn’t mentally considered it, Helena felt like she possibly could have collapsed from the sudden change in temperature, but at least she did acknowledge it and was able to maintain composure. Still, the intense heat was making its presence known.

“There you are!” A familiar, cheerful, and energetic voice called out. Helena turned her head towards the sound and smiled upon seeing Alanza. She hadn’t changed much since they last saw each other back at the beginning of their seventh years, then again it had only been a few months. “Welcome to Brazil!” She greeted her with open arms and embraced her.

“Alanza!” Helena cheerfully smiled and hugged her back. She retained her smile once they broke their embrace. “It’s good to see you.” She looked once again at her surroundings, the colorful city square she was in, the rainforest in the distance, and the sounds of tropical birds filling the air. “You weren’t kidding

in your letters, this place is incredible!”

“I knew you’d love it.” Alanza beamed. “Trust me though, this is just the beginning. Just wait until we get to explore the rainforest. There are so many magical plants and creatures there. But for now, let’s get you settled. My family’s home isn’t too far from here, and Mum is cooking a wonderful welcome dinner as we speak.”

“Sounds great.” Helena smiled as she readjusted her hand that securely held her bag. “Lead the way.”

It was clear that Alanza knew her way through the city the way she weaved through the crowds with ease with her light steps. Her determined caramel eyes leading the way with confidence. Helena glanced around her, taking in all of the colorful buildings and the fruit stalls. At least it did help distract her from the heat that she knew would be a challenge to get used to.

“So,” Alanza glanced over her shoulder. “How’s life been since we last saw each other? What sort of adventures have you been on? How have the others been?”

Helena chuckled, “Nothing too much actually but I am grateful for that. After dealing with the cursed vaults and R we could all use a break.” Helena pointed out, recalling fondly of how Alanza’s visit was one of the highlights of her seventh year, one that started to feel strangely normal, as it should have been. “Everyone else is doing well. Melody is starting some freelance curse breaking, being mentored by a friend of her brother’s. Though I will say Melody hardly needs it, the cursed vaults were experience enough, but suppose it helps in the professional context. And Miles, like me, is practicing herbology.” Helena named a handful of examples.

“Sounds like you all have been getting some much needed rest. I guess you needed it given what you have told me about the past few years.” Alanza acknowledged. “You know, I’ve been working with plants myself a bit, and creatures to. Although music has been taking up most of my passion, not that I mind.”

“What types of music have you been working with?” Helena asked curiously.

“I’ve been practicing with nine different instruments, you could say I am a one woman band.” Alanza cheerfully answered. “I know the Berimbau, Cavaquinho, Rabeca, Viola de Cocho, Pifano, Atabaque, Maraca, Pandeiro, and the Accordion!”

Helena laughed with amusement, “I knew you were gifted musically but I wouldn’t have guessed you knew that many instruments.”

“I like to think music creates its own magic.” Alanza stated proudly. “I am actually in a band, I’ll have to introduce you to them at some point during your visit.”

As they continued walking. The most bustling city square became a more calm collection of houses, albeit still colorful and bold in their designs, with a touch of nature shining through with the vines. Eventually, an impressively sized house came into view with two stories that was much larger in scale compared to own her home which was more modest. Then again, she was familiar with big homes with her visits to the Hearst Hall and Midway Estate as a child. Vines crept up the sides of the house creating a unique design element against the painted exterior walls and the roof that was made of red tiles.

“And here we are.” Alanza finally announced. “My family has had this house for generations, as you know, we are known in Manaus for our contributions to the wizarding world, particularly in Magizoology but also a bit of herbology to for good measure.”

“It’s beautiful.” Helena smiled. “I can see why you enjoy it here.”

“Now come on.” Alanza insisted, almost like an excitable child, “Let’s get inside.”

The first thing that caught Helena’s attention upon walking into the house was the colorfully painted wooden carvings of various magical creatures of all sorts. The room she had entered was spacious and filled with portraits and other paintings. And Helena appreciated the shade that the interior of the house provided.

“Mãe!” Alanza called out to the woman who was working in the kitchen, the wonderful smells filling the house. “I’m back.”

Alanza’s mother seemed to be a bit younger than Helena’s own mother. Her dark hair was tied in a low bun, likely so it didn’t get in her way while she cooked. She smiled as she turned, using her wand to enchant the spoon to help stir the pot at the proper speed. Helena noted that Alanza inherited her eyes from her mother, as they shared her caramel shade.

“Ah, so you’re the famous Helena that Alanza talks so much about.” Mrs. Alves observed. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

“It’s great to finally be here.” Helena smiled back, appreciating the hospitality. “The food smells great.”

Mrs. Alves nodded in approval, “Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. Now, dinner is almost ready, so you can take a piece of fruit if you’d like.” She offered while gesturing to a bowl of fruit on the table. When Helena looked over there, Alanza already had grabbed a green fruit with a red inside. When Helena turned back she noticed how Mrs. Alves eyes looked towards her bag, “And Alanza can help you get settled.”

“Thank you.” Helena gave a friendly smiled as she gently grabbed a papaya from the bowl with her free hand.

“The room is just up the stairs.” Alanza revealed as she motioned her hand to the proper direction, “Come on!”

Helena was quick to follow Alanza up the stairs. By the looks of it, the bottom floor was where the family would gather, either for leisure or to enjoy a meal, while the upper floor was where everyone’s rooms were. Alanza opened up the door with a smile. The room was painted a golden shade and the window provided an excellent view of not only the city, but also the surrounding rainforest.

“Hope you like it.” Alanza smiled from the doorway.

“It’s perfect.” Helena assured her as she gently sat her bag on the bed as she enjoyed the last few bites of her papaya. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Alanza beamed. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the rest of the family. And I’m sure you’ll love dinner too. My Mãe makes the best dishes, especially Tambaqui and Tacaca. Then tomorrow, the real fun will begin.”

“I can’t wait.” Helena’s eyes lit up at the thought of exploring the flora and fauna of Brazil, embracing the rainforest as a place to explore.

“Let’s get back downstairs.” Alanza waved her over. “Dinner should be just about ready.”

Helena silently nodded as she followed Alanza out of the room and following her friend’s rapid pace down the stairs. As Alanza had predicted, dinner was indeed ready as plates and bowls were being placed on the table. The smells continued to fill the air. She took a seat next to Alanza at the table as Alanza’s many siblings, father, and grandmother did, with Alanza’s mother being the last to sit once she placed the last dish on the table.

Helena could tell the food was delicious before eating it and as she took her first few bites she could confirm it full heartedly. The cuisine was certainly different from what she was used to back home but it made it all the more interesting. She had to remind herself to ask Alanza of other dishes that she should try during her visit.

“I hope the portkey didn’t give you any trouble?” Alanza’s father asked.

“Not at all.” Helena shook her head with a smile. “Took a minute to get my groundings but it’s worth it for such a quick trip.”

“Alanza mentioned you were from Ireland right?” Alanza’s grandmother recalled, “How is it over there.”

“It’s been good, much more peaceful, especially at Hogwarts which is in Scotland.” Helena explained, “It’s a welcome change. I have had more time to focus on my herbology work.”

“Alanza mentioned a bit of what you have gone through last year” Alanza’s older brother, Luis, Helena believed his named was, stated. “It sounds like you are in need of a well deserved rest.”

“Definitely.” Helena nodded, “Me, my brother, and cousin have been through a lot. But I didn’t come here just to sit around and watch everything from a distance.”

“That’s the spirit!” Alanza cheered, “The rainforest is beautiful in the summer. And life in Manaus is so alive with the yearly festival. Even though it meant it was a season away from Castelobruxo, it did give me the freedom to explore closer to home.”

“Alanza’s been talking about taking you to the rainforest ever since you two finalized the plans for your visit.” Alanza’s father chuckled, “She has a lot to show you.”

“I’m sure.” Helena smiled knowingly, “and I can’t wait.”

“There are so many plants and creatures to show you.” Alanza added, “Although we might run into some mischievous Caipora, they can be quite tricky.”

“But don’t you worry.” Alanza’s mother assured Helena, “Alanza knows the rainforest in and out. You are in good hands. She started learning about the rainforest since before she could walk, just like the rest of her siblings.”

As the conversations continued on in a lovely animated fashion, Helena found herself thinking in her own head. Her first summer after her Hogwarts graduation was bound to be a memorable one and this new adventure was just beginning.

[rosie-love98]

The Revivors Of Severus Snape:

WARNING: May contain spoilers for “Hogwarts Mystery”.

Basically, I’ve been triyng to work on a fic where (movie) Severus Snape is revived shortly after “Deathly Hallows”. This would be through a formula created by the late Eileen Prince-Snape that composes of the following ingredients:

-A cauldron of water heated by a dragon.

-Pheonix tears.

-Stinging Nettle.

-Yarrow.

-Fairy Wings.

-The Resurrection Stone.

-And the horn of a unicorn to stir the contents.

From this odd potion, Severus Snape would not only be revived but would gain the powers of the Resurrection Stone. After a long while of recovery, Snape would eventually escape his captived to live in seclusion for years under the name “Sephtis Surgo”. 

While Snape would reunite with his ex-wife (he had secrelty married Constance Hardbroom of the 1998 “Worst Witch” and had a son who would be Nicholas Hobbes of the “Worst Witch” spin-off, “Weirdsister College”) and later welcome a daughter who would inherit (half of) the Resurrection powers, there is a matter that I’m trying to look more into. Who would be Snape’s revivors/captors?

I know I want them to be a member of “R”/The Cabal from the “Hogwarts Mystery” games. But, as I haven’t played much of the game (and too cheap to pay for the upgrades that’ll help me move on to the levels), I’m a bit stuck on the fates of the members. As Peregrine is (allegedly) dead, I’m more incline to go with Verucca Snyde, Eustace Burke, Kazuhiro Shiratori and (maybe) Patricia Rakepick. If the likes of Barty Crouch Jr., Bellatrix and other Death-Eaters had managed to escape, then perhaps the “R” members found a way. But should I go with them or come up with an OC member?

Another question is how would they have gotten ahole of Eileen’s formula? Could Eileen have been a member due to The Cabal’s goal for power? With her destructive marriage to Tobias, it would’ve been natural for the powerless Eileen to want some kind of change? 

Then there’s how they managed to get Snape out of the boathouse...I had the Cabal use the red cap creatures to track a corpse down but how did they get onto Hogwarts grounds and why? Was it to help fight the Death-Eaters or did they have an incling a war was approaching the school so they were hoping to find an unclaimed corpse somewhere?

So, for those who played the game, would including Verucca, Kazuhiro, Patricia and Eustace be a good idea for this story’s villians?

@missnight0wl @hellodanny-hphm @redhairedgryffindor @hogwartshousefriends 

[missnight0wl]

Let’s talk about Elton Elderberry – and why he’s a total bitch

First of all, I want to thank @thedoodlecat because a lot of the ideas I’ll discuss were formed during our conversations. So, credit where credit's due!

Secondly, I want to make it clear from the start that it’s not quite a theory, meaning: I personally don’t believe Jam City might take the story in this direction. However, I believe that a lot of it might be a leftover of what’s the story supposed to be. And yes, it can also be explained by the writers having no idea what they’re doing, but on the other hand, it ties in with many interesting details from the past, mostly from Y5. And I still believe that year was super important for the narrative.

Now, without further ado, let’s move on to Elton. Spoilers up to Y7Ch56.

Ok, so the first thing that really bothers me about Elton Elderberry is that he was well aware of the Crown of Mneme, how dangerous it can be, and he had to at least suspect that it might be in the Sunken Vault – and for all those years, he did absolutely fucking nothing.

And it’s quite problematic because there’s no way he just… didn’t know about MC and the Cursed Vaults. At the beginning of Y3, MC told us that pretty much everyone could learn about it from the Daily Prophet. And we know that the Ministry was especially aware of it. Even if we ignore Moody’s involvement starting from Y6, first with Rakepick and then with Peregrine, we also had the Ministry sending Tofty to spy on MC during our O.W.L.s because of the Cursed Vaults. And honestly, I just don’t buy the explanation that Elton somehow… just didn’t hear about it. So, like, what the hell?

Now, I can hear you saying: “Oh, but of course Elton didn’t do anything because he wasn’t a character yet and Jam City probably just created him now!”. And you know what? That’s a totally valid remark and quite probable explanation. Still, I kept thinking about it anyway, and I quickly noticed another problem with Elton: how we actually learnt that he was directly involved in Ryusaki’s death. I mean, look at those scenes:

And then after our visit to the Archives:

(I just have to point out that he’s fucking grinning here…)

… and then:

Do you see the problem here??

Imagine this. You meet Steve. Steve tells you about the mother who died in a car accident with her two children. Sadly, she was the one who caused the accident because she was under the influence. Later you learn on your own that the said mother was a model parent, always there for her children despite having two jobs, actually sober during the accident, rarely drunk at all, and in fact, it was Steve who caused the crash. When confronted, Steve admits to everything and says he feels terrible about it and it haunts him every day. Would you believe Steve that he’s so sorry? BECAUSE I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T. In fact, I’d do everything to stay away from Steve.

Now, again, I’m aware that it might be simply JC’s incompetence in making a connection between the Crown of Mneme and Dai Ryusaki – even though it could’ve been easily done without Elton actively portraying Ryusaki as a bad guy. For example:

Elton: I advise you to avoid the Crown at all costs. MC: I wonder if it has anything to do with the Dark Scroll… Elton: You don’t mean Dai Ryusaki’s Dark Scroll, do you? MC: That dark wizard? Yes, I do. Why? Do you know anything about it too? Elton: *not answering right away and looking very ashamed instead, showing already that he doesn’t want to reveal the truth because of his loyalty to the Ministry, but also showing his guilt*

And yes, I know it wouldn’t be the first time JC didn’t see the simplest solutions in their writing. But as I was thinking about it more, I realised that if we assume that Elton indeed knew about MC and the Cursed Vaults all that time and did nothing on purpose, it’s both surprising and fascinating how many things start to add up. In this scenario, Elton would also want to portray Ryusaki as a bad guy. I know it doesn’t fully work currently because, in the end, it was Elton who let us go to the Archives, but I guess it’s possible that originally, we were supposed to learn the truth about Ryusaki in some different way. And either way, I have to point out that there’s something very off in this part of the story no matter what. I mean, let me ask you one question:

Why exactly Dai Ryusaki was killed?

Because if you think about it, it was never really explained… properly. Like, we keep using words like “miscommunication” or “misunderstanding”.

But… how the fuck can you kill somebody because of misunderstanding? I guess we’re supposed to interpret it as: “The International Confederation of Wizards thought Dai wanted to use his invention to do bad things while he was actually trying to destroy his invention once he realised it’s dangerous”. However, this interpretation doesn’t really make sense. Why? Look at Ryusaki’s notes we found in the Archives.

Ryusaki seems absolutely certain that once he destroys what he was about to destroy, it’s done. He accepted that his work would be no more after that. And that makes me believe that nobody else (or almost nobody) knew about his work. Because otherwise, he’d have to realise that someone might try to replicate his work, right? Or even force him to simply repeat it? Yet he’s not worried about it. And the thing is that Ryusaki was a very intelligent, reasonable, and conscious man. So… how the hell the International Confederation of Wizards knew anything to misinterpret Ryusaki’s intentions?

Well, what if there was someone other than Ryusaki who knew about his work after all? But Dai completely trusted that person, so that’s why he was so sure the whole thing would remain secret? What if that person happened to work at the British Ministry of Magic? What if this person was…

Elton “The Bitch” Elderberry?

Ok, so I know that everything I said so far is a big assumption, but I swear it does make sense, so please, bear with me. And I’ll actually start by summarising what I believe how it all began and then I’ll elaborate on each element because it’s gonna be easier for me that way.

So, I believe that Dai Ryusaki and Elton Elderberry were once good friends. They were both quite talented wizards, and while they had different goals in life, they realised at some point that the treasure from the Cursed Vaults might help them achieve that. Together, they created a group that we know as R. Unfortunately for Elton, Dai realised eventually that both his own invention and the Cursed Vaults themselves are dangerous, so he decided to quit. Elton didn’t like it, and he was afraid that Dai would try to stop him as well, so he decided to be proactive about it. Using his position as a Hit Wizard at the Ministry, he sold Dai out, claiming he’s a dangerous dark wizard. Elton kept R alive ever since, and he was waiting for MC to be born because MC is necessary to open the final Cursed Vault.

Of course, I assume that the original plans for the final Cursed Vault were different than what we saw in Y6. Also, from that point, I’ll keep calling Elton “Brelton” because:

BITCH + R + ELTON = BRELTON

… and I just think this distinction might be useful because, as I said, I don’t think it might still be true, yet it seems that Elton Elderberry will stay in the story anyway. Ok, but let’s talk about some details.

Dai’s and Brelton’s goals

As for Dai’s goal, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s basically said directly in the game: he wanted to help people with traumatic memories. What would be Brelton’s goal then? Well, let me remind you one note from R we found in Y5:

The interesting thing about it is that for the longest time, it was the only case where it was mentioned that R had any interest in immortality. As soon as the Dark Scroll was introduced, we only talked about R wanting knowledge. I even talked with my friend about how weird it is that the writers totally abandoned the immortality aspect (Bee, I’m not tagging you because I don’t want you to feel obliged to read this long-ass post, but if you’re reading it anyway: Hi! I’m talking about you!). In fact, I’m pretty sure that the word “immortality” wasn’t even used in the main story after that note from R – until our conversation with Elton in Y7Ch49:

And you know what? I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. Because it’s not even true! Every time we talked about Ryusaki’s potion, it was about mind-enhancing potion.

So… what if it’s the leftover of the original plans for Elton’s character? What if it’s Brelton who was all about immortality? And now, JC just looked at the notes made by Matt London and his team and simply put the immortality potion in there without thinking if it made sense. I realise it feels like another stretch, but I have to point out that Elton’s old age is a little sus – and they stress all the time how old he is. I mean, wizards do live longer than Muggles, but most of them don’t live over 300 years. (There’s actually the HP wiki page about it.)

And the thing is that from the story point of view, it wasn’t even necessary to make Elton this old. Sure, it adds some flavour with the reveal that he was actually there when Dai was killed, but on the other hand, he mentions every now and then that his memory is not the best anymore etc. So, wouldn’t it be better if MC met Elton's son or grandson, for example? Personally, I think it would, and that’s why I’m gonna assume for the rest of this analysis that R was always about “enlightenment and immortality”, and that Dai Ryusaki represented the first element while Elton Elderberry the second one.

Why they needed the Cursed Vaults?

Ok, so now that we know what they wanted in general, let’s try to figure out why they went after the Cursed Vaults – and as I mentioned already, I assume that the original treasure was actually… well, a thing. I admit that I wasn’t able to figure out what exactly it could’ve been, but I have some ideas about what properties the Treasure could have, based on Dai’s and Brelton’s goals.

This time, let’s start with Brelton because it’s a bit easier. Basically, I believe that Brelton managed to invent something that grants semi-immortality, but it’s not the perfect invention. Sure, he’s still alive and his mind is not in the worst condition, but still. So, I think that he believes that the Treasure could improve his invention by granting actual immortality and/or eternal youth.

It’s a bit more complicated with Dai because we have to consider multiple elements. First of all, we have the mind-enhancing potion. The recipe for it was hidden on the Dark Scroll which was confirmed by the notes found by MC in the Archives. But earlier, MC also mentioned “a device”, and then they read: “I can’t bear to destroy my life’s work, but I know that I must. The scroll has already been hidden”. So… what exactly was he about to destroy? If we want to stick to the legend told by Corey, it might’ve been about the already-prepared potion. He might’ve also been referring to his research in general and his notes or something. But then we have the Crown of Mneme… And that’s quite interesting because we actually know that it’s something he found in Greece – which, by the way, confirms that the Crown was not something placed in the Cursed Vaults originally (I’ll return to it in a moment).

Either way, to simplify it a little bit, I’m gonna assume that Dai’s invention was about the Crown and the potion - and that together was considered his “device”. What about the Treasure then? I see a couple of options.

Perhaps the Treasure would give more control over the Crown or allow to exchange of thoughts both ways. I mean, what we saw in the game looked like the wearer could only send their thoughts, but if Dai wanted to treat patients with traumatic memories, he probably wanted to extract those memories.

Perhaps the Treasure could permanently remove/destroy traumatic memories. Because I don’t think you can actually do it with Obliviate, for example. I might be wrong, but I feel that there is always a small chance that the memory would come back or simply leave some mark behind it.

How the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault?

So… If Dai was so certain that his invention was gone and to be forgotten, and on top of that I claim that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the Cursed Vaults, then how the hell the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault? Well, I guess I won’t surprise anyone at this point by saying that it was Brelton who was behind it. And the best thing is that we actually know that R was in the Sunken Vault in the past – and that’s thanks to the note found in the Weird Sisters TLSQ:

So, this is what I propose. Brelton got the Crown of Mneme before Dai’s death somehow. I don’t think that Dai would just give it to him because I assume they already fell apart at that point. Or perhaps Brelton lied to Dai and offered that he’d destroy the Crown? Either way, he probably wasn’t planning to destroy it (as it might be useful for him), and he continued his search for the Cursed Vaults. Unfortunately for him, once he got to the Sunken Vault, he realised he couldn’t do anything without the key. And now, the key might be the Gillyweed/Coral Key Rakepick took from us in Y4, or maybe it’s about the siblings – or it’s both (like in my version of the story). Anyway, the Treasure was unachievable, so Brelton used this opportunity to hide the Crown of Mneme and just left.

Ryusaki and the creation of the Cabal

Ok, but why I assume that Dai Ryusaki even knew about the Cursed Vaults, to begin with? I just explained how it was probably Brelton who put the Crown in the Sunken Vault, and we don’t really have anything to prove that Dai needed the Treasure to improve his invention. Well, yeah. But we have something else. Something that I find very exciting. See, during our first trip to Knockturn Alley, we visited also Flourish and Blotts where we found a Black Quill containing this message:

And for the longest time, I was just… absolutely stumped by it. I couldn’t come up with any decent theory as to who left that note. But now, I do strongly believe that it was left by Dai Ryusaki. Brelton was too greedy to get his immortality and too afraid of his own mortality to leave the Cursed Vaults and refused to listen to his friend that it’s too dangerous. The note also talks about “them”, so maybe R had some more members at that point already (but only Dai and Elton knew everything). And you know what makes it even more fascinating? We found this Black Quill in the book by Maerwynn Montfort who’s a totally original author mentioned only in this specific scene in HPHM. Interestingly, Maerwynn is a feminine name that is of Welsh origin that means “joy”. And coincidently, Dai is a Welsh masculine given name (which means “beloved”), a hypocorism of Dafydd or David, as well as a masculine Japanese given name. Like…

Are you kidding me??

I mean, ok, sure. It might be just a coincidence. But you have to admit that it’s a pretty damn odd coincidence. Maybe Maerwynn was someone from Dai’s Welsh part of the family or just a friend whom he met there? Or maybe it’s just a pseudonym or something. But either way, it might be hinting at some (“Welsh”) connection. And that’s why they were exchanging secret information!

Still, that’s not even all I finally realised about the note. Because I also believe that it confirms that the Cabal from Jacob’s notebook is a different group than R – and I think that it was Dai Ryusaki who started that group.

Ok, so I explained the whole idea in this post. It’s one of my shorter analyses so I recommend checking it out. But to put it even shorter, my problem with the note from Y5Ch15 was always that Jacob was confused about why the Cabal wanted to kill him.

But R was very open about threatening Jacob and especially his family, so… it shouldn’t be surprising at all. He might’ve been confused if he was doing everything R told him to do – but then it doesn’t make sense that R would want to kill Jacob and MC. I mean, after Duncan’s death, they clearly told him to continue his search.

So, I always interpreted the Cabal as a separate group who wanted to protect the Cursed Vaults by killing the siblings because the siblings are necessary to get to the Treasure. And if we join it with the note from Flourish and Blotts, it totally adds up. Dai realised that the Cursed Vaults were dangerous and wanted to stop R. Brelton wouldn’t listen, so Dai wanted to destroy the vault portrait which, assumingly, would make it impossible to get to the Portrait Vault. On top of that, he started the group that was supposed to make sure that nobody would ever get hurt by the Vaults by killing the siblings (who can get the Treasure). It was about the creation of the Cabal this whole time!

Brelton as the true leader of R

In general, I have to say that Brelton being the true leader of R just makes more sense. In this scenario, it’d also mean that Peregrine is just… a current face of the organisation. A puppet. And yes, I keep saying that I don’t believe that Perry was always planned to be a part of the story, so why do I even mention him? Well, to be completely honest, I’m willing to accept that Perry was planned along with Dai and Brelton’s story – just not as MC’s father. Because it makes sense that Brelton would want to keep his position at the Ministry, and if so, he’d probably need someone to (occasionally) represent R. And that could be Peregrine. In fact, we saw some moments when the leader of R was treated weirdly ambiguous. The first case is our conversation with Rakepick in Azkaban. And yes, I know that we didn’t know about Peregrine then yet, so it kind of makes sense to leave it more ambiguous, but I want to point out a specific thing Rakepick said.

Honestly, I was always confused by it because “the one behind it all” sounds like someone who also created R, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, we had hints in the past that R is a rather older organisation. Not to mention that Perry claimed that he joined R, meaning that R was R before the current leader joined them. Of course, it is possible that Perry lies. It is also possible that the title of R is simply given to each leader. But… I don’t know. Rakepick’s words sound to me like she is talking about only one person. However, if that one person is actually Brelton, it makes sense that he’s both the current true leader and the one responsible for creating the organisation.

My other issue is with Olivia’s memories. Because Rakepick is very clearly talking to someone from R in those scenes, but for whatever reason we never learn who it was.

So, what if it was actually supposed to be Brelton? And speaking of that, ever since we learnt that Olivia was working at the Ministry, I thought it was pretty suspicious, and I fully expected that R was controlling that. And what a coincidence that Elton became Olivia’s mentor for all those years…

Hell, it’d even make more sense why Verucca is so damn worried about Perry being cursed by Ryusaki’s amulet. Because if Brellton indeed betrayed Dai, then it could mean that it’s Brelton who’s the real target of that whole revenge plan. The curse might be simply generalising it because, well, it’s just a spirit that’s basically the essence of Ryusaki’s anger. But if Verucca knows about everything as a high-ranking member of R, then yeah, she’d try to stop Perry from hurting their dear leader Brelton.

And… that’s it!

Once again, like I said, I do not expect the game to confirm any of the things I discussed above. But that being said, I feel very confident about pretty much everything I said. And even though it took me months to finally write it all down, I have to say that putting it together was really fun and exciting. Who knows, maybe it’s the last time I feel like that about HPHM theory, at least when it comes to relatively new content. But even if so, I’m kind of glad that I got some semi-closure to the things that were bothering me.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

If Beyond doesn't see the return of R then I have to wonder what was the fucking point of them in the first place?? Like sorry but what did they actually accomplish other than killing a kid for vague ass reasons

I couldn't begin to answer that, anon. Because to a degree, I've been wondering the same exact thing. (Fun fact, anon, you inspired me to begin working on my own headcanon/backstory for R, and redeveloping it with the new content since I last looked at it, so thank you for that!)

Frankly, when it comes to R, what I keep coming back to is how we never learned what "R" actually stands for, despite how basic that seems. And that frustrates me. Merlin's beard does that frustrate me. Even if the developers wanted to retroactively claim that The Cabal is simply called "R" and that it's not short for anything else (which would be utter nonsense at this point) the name still has to mean something, right? If it isn't shorthand for something, then what exactly is the origin of The Cabal calling itself R? We deserve an explanation on that.

Then there's also the unfinished, underdeveloped tale of Dai Ryusaki. What happened there? How exactly did he die, because we've heard conflicting reports. Is his spirit still around, even now? What is the amulet anyway, how does it work? It appeared to function similar to a horcrux, but that can't be true. Not if Ryusaki was actually a misunderstood wizard of noble intent. Was he R's founder? Or was the group perhaps named in his honor? But if "R" in fact stands for Ryusaki, why haven't they just told us already?

Don't forget Peregrine. For a character this significant, it's a little odd that he wasn't introduced or seen onscreen until the third act of Year 7. Especially if he was just going to be killed off so quickly. This is MC's Dad, for crying out loud, and we have so many unanswered questions. Was he truly himself? Or was he influenced, possessed? How does that impact his "death?" What happened to the amulet? And where does Elton fit into all of this? How is he just casually mentioning that he's hundreds of years old, like, what? And nobody thinks that's weird? (Don't get me started on Elton. Long story short, I think MissNightOwl has the measure of him perfectly.)

How and why was R founded, and by whom? When did it become about interfering with the Ministry? Whatever happened to their pursuit for "enlightenment and immortality? Was Ryusaki or his spirit always an influence over this group? How did it become such a cesspool for dark wizards? Was The Cabal, at one time in history, a noble organization? Come to think of it, how long has R even been around? Again, I assume it was founded during Ryusaki's time, but if so, that means that R is old. Very old. And what's their deal these days? Are they still a global organization? Are they still active, even after Year 7? What's happening in the branches across the globe?

I meant what I said before. R's story is unfinished and undeveloped. Which is such a crying shame because they were creepy as all hell, and by Year 7 they were given the responsibility of driving the story on their own, with no cursed vault to pick up the slack. It seems like the writers had a lot they wanted to do with their villains, but when the time came to actually follow through, they simply...didn't, for some reason.

[catohphm]

HPHM Ship Weekend - Day 3 - Sunset

A Moment by the Lakeside

Morning everyone! This is my third and last addition for @hphm-ship-week featuring my MC x Canon ship Cato x Penny, or Reesewood! Here they have some time for themselves by the Black Lake at Hogwarts during their seventh year early on, reveling in their deep feelings for each other. Once again special thanks goes to @autisticarachnid and @eternalchaoschocolaterain! I hope you all enjoy, feedback is greatly appreciated!

One weekend during September 1990, the young Cato and Penny were taking some time for themselves on the grounds beside the Black Lake. The sun cast a huge rippling sheen on the water, calm as ever. They were sitting together on the grass. Penny was slowly running her hands through his hair back and forth. 

“I’ve been doing the best I can looking out for everyone against R and those vaults. I get tired of talking about them though. They’ve caused too much grief for us.” he reflected in a semi-exhausted voice.

“I know. I’m just glad everyone is okay. You and Bea are among the first two people I think about. R is still out there but we still sleep better with Rakepick facing justice.”

Cato smiled at this, even if his facial expressions gave off a hint of reluctance. “I don’t feel afraid as much going after them, or even taking my NEWTs. I still told myself that I’d want to have as much of a normal seventh year as possible.”

Penny smiled and answered back with an assured voice “I think we’ll all be able to have that, thanks to your efforts.” while resting her hand on his shoulder.

He looked toward her and went for her hand resting on her shoulder. Their hands grasped each other and relaxed on the grass.

“I’d want our years at Hogwarts to never end but having you is going to make even the harder times better.”

Cato shared the sentiment. “With you I don’t have to think what if not?” he laughed.

“Not at all! We’ve already done so much. I never thought in the beginning that we’d be breaking curses at Hogwarts. I’m still glad to have done it with you, Cato-bear.”

They went into a short-lasting yet slow and passionate kiss. Cato and Penny’s romance had only grown over the years as they came of age, defying any kind of obstacle from school drama, Cursed Vaults, and the incursions of R. It would only keep going as it would help them get through the stresses of their final Hogwarts term together. They also intended to dedicate the year to enjoying their bond before their lives would inevitably change after they left school.

The young couple exited their kiss and looked at the sight of the sun over the Black Lake for a moment to relax in silence, still holding each other’s hands while resting them on the grass.  

Cato and Penny broke out of their silence when he reached inside of his school robe for something. “I got something special for you.”

She gasped a little in excitement. “What could it be, Cato-bear?”

He pulled out a small tan box from the robe and gave it to her. Penny took off its cover and laid it underneath its bottom half, revealing a necklace with a yellow-orange translucent stone that had flat faces and round edges. It had a brass ring going around the circumference of the circle where the two edges met. The small chain meant to be worn around the neck was made of the same material as the ring.

“Cato, this is an amber pendant. You picked something so beautiful!” she exclaimed with glee. “I’m curious where you were able to find this great gift?”

“Just before the year started, me and my friends stopped at this bargain store in the town we were staying at while on holiday at the beach. You said you were attending a function for potioneering at the time. There was nothing much interesting in the store to me, except for the pendant that caught my eye.”

Penny blushed a bit “Go on!”

“I thought of you when I saw it. I spent some time gazing at it, and realized I had to pick it up. It didn’t cost me much, but whoever made it did a great job because of how cleanly cut the amber looked. Nobody asked as we were all way too hungry by that point to think about anything else. I’ve been looking forward to giving it to you since then. This felt like the right time to do it.”

She grinned and put on the amber pendant. “Thank you so much for the sweet surprise, Cato-bear.” Penny pecked him on the cheek.

“You’re quite welcome. It looks really nice on you! The amber matches the color of the sky.”

“And it matches the bronze on your Ravenclaw tie, Cato.” pointed out Penny, with a playful giggle. “This is perfect!”

He blushed some and was joyful with a sighful smile. “I’m so flattered you like it that much. The pendant was just something little I found while I was-”

“Don’t worry about it at all! I’ve seen you have so much heart in you.”

“I’ve seen the same in you, Penny! It's the reason why I think about you a lot and are important to me. Do you want to go back inside the castle? It’s getting a little colder out here.”

Laughing a bit, she responded “I was meaning to ask that too, good call Cato!”

They rose up and took a minute to admire the spectacle of twilight in the evening sky, Penny huddled together with him.

She then took the lead and they departed, holding hands together.

[smarti-at-smogwarts]

Jacob x Epic the musical that's it that's the tweet

[stella-323]

Barnaby x emma (mc)

I love emma i think she should be canon mc 💛😍